There are around 12,000 NBFCs in the system. RBI has the
power to cancel licence if the companies do not fulfil various norms including
minimum net owned funds.

ICICI Bank launched
locker facility named Smart Vault

ICICI Bank on 18 August 2015 launched Smart Vault, a
first-of-its-kind locker facility by a bank in India with latest robotic
technology. The facility was launched by Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO of ICICI
Bank at the Defence Colony branch of Delhi.

The Smart Vault uses robotic technology to access the
lockers from the safe vault and enables customers to conveniently access their
lockers at any time of their preference, in the comfort of a secure lounge
where the locker automatically comes up to the customer.

Smart Vault locker is equipped with multi-layer security
system, including biometric and PIN authentication and debit cards, among
others. Customers can access it without any intervention by the branch staff.

The lockers are of two-three different sizes and the charges
of availing this facility would depend on their size. Also, the locker charges
in a city would vary depending on the real estate cost.

SBI launches mobile
wallet app ‘Buddy’

Country’s largest lender State Bank of India today launched
a mobile wallet app, SBI Buddy, in collaboration with Accenture and Mastercard.

The service will be available to existing as well as non-SBI
customers.

The app was launched by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley along
with Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Finance and Hasmukh Adhia, Secretary,
Department of Financial Services.

The mobile wallet app can be used to send money to new and
registered customers, book for movies, flights, hotels as well as for shopping.

It also has features like reminders to settle dues, recharge
and pay bills instantly.

The app is available on Google Play Store, at present, and
soon will be launched on Apple App Store.

Snapdeal raises $ 500
m from Alibaba, Foxconn and others

Online marketplace Snapdeal has raised $ 500 million (about
Rs. 3,269 crore) in a fresh round of funding from a clutch of investors led by
Alibaba Group, Foxconn and SoftBank.

Existing investors Temasek, BlackRock, Myriad and Premji
Invest also participated in the latest funding round, Snapdeal said in a
statement.

The company had raised more than $ 1 billion, from investors
including Softbank ($ 627 million) and iconic business leader Ratan Tata
(personal investment).

As per market estimates, the new round would value the
city—based firm at about $ 4—5 billion.

India
–

Telangana Government
launched Grama Jyothi Scheme across the state

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on 17 August
2015 launched a flagship programme Grama Jyothi across the state. The scheme is
aimed at comprehensive development of rural areas allowing planning and
execution of works by villages themselves.

For the successful implementation of the scheme, the state
government has decided to invest 25000 crore rupees to empower villages.

The scheme will focus on improving the Human Development
Index (HDI) by addressing core issues such as drinking water and sanitation,
health and nutrition, education, infrastructure, natural resources management,
agriculture, social security and poverty reduction.

The Grama Jyothi programme aims to empower gram panchayats.
The programme introduces a participatory approach in preparing village
development plans involving the panchayats, self help groups, people and all
interested in the holistic development of the village.

Kerala Government
signed MoU with Adani Group for development of Vizhinjam Port

Kerala government on 17 August 2015 signed a MoU with Adani
Group led Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Ltd for developing 7525 crore rupees
Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport near Kovalam beach.

The MoU was signed by Kerala Principal Secretary (Ports)
James Varghese and Santosh Kumar Mahopatra, CEO of Adani Vizhinjam Port Private
Ltd.

The proposal for the project was first initiated 25 years
ago in 1991 by late Kerala Chief Minister
K Karunakaran but he project failed to take off for various reasons.

The project is expected to start from November 2015 and
promises to be operational in a record time of less than 1000 days.

Out of the total cost, 4089 crore rupees would be the PPP
component and 1463 crore rupees will be the funded work expenditure to be borne
by the state government.

The MoU is for granting of licence for construction and
operation of the port for a 40-year period, including the construction period
of four years.

Second Round of
Foreign Office Consultations between India and Paraguay held

The Second Round of India-Paraguay Foreign Office
Consultations (IPFOC) was held on 17 August 2015 in New Delhi. The meet aimed
to strengthen the cooperation between the two countries.

The Indian delegation was led by R Swaminathan, Secretary
(AMS, CPV &SA), MEA and Oscar Cabellow Sarubbi, Deputy Foreign Minister of
Paraguay led the Paraguayan delegation.

During the meet, the entire gamut of bilateral relations
including political, commercial & trade, financial, tourism, technical and
other areas of cooperation were discussed. They also discussed important
regional and multilateral issues including India’s ongoing engagement with
Community of Latin American Caribbean States (CELAC), MERCOSUR and UN Reforms.

PM
Visits –

Prime Minister
Narendra Modi visited United Arab Emirates

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi visited United Arab
Emirates (UAE) between 16 August and 17 August 2015. He is the first Prime
Minister of India to visit UAE after 34 years. The last Indian Prime Minister
to visit the UAE was Indira Gandhi in 1981.

Important events
held during Modi’s visit to the nation includes

His Highness the Crown Prince decided to allot land for
construction of a temple in Abu Dhabi.

He also visited the historic Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in
Abu Dhabi, which is the third largest mosque in the world and can accommodate
around 40000 people at a time. It is named after the founder and first
President of the UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The other two
mosques’s which are larger than the Zayed Grand Mosque ate the ones in Mecca
and Madina in Saudi Arabia.

He visited Masdar City, a zero carbon city, where he met
with investors.

He addressed Indian Diaspora of the country at the Dubai
Cricket Stadium. Indian Diaspora forms 30 per cent of the UAE’s population.

He also interacted with Indian workers at the ICAD
Residential Labour Camping, Abu Dhabi, which houses thousands of migrant
labourers from the Indian subcontinent.

Besides this, the Prime Minister announced that the Indian
mission in UAE has set up an e-migrant portal to help Indian migrant workers
and an online platform ‘MADAD’ to assist them.

He was earlier posted as executive director of Union Bank of
India. Kharat is a graduate in commerce and law, and is a certified associate
of the Indian Institute of Bankers.

He also holds an Executive Diploma in Management. Before
Union Bank of India, Kharat had served Bank of Baroda for three decades. Kharat
has dealt with various verticals of banking including credit, international
business, information technology and general administration both in India as
well as overseas.

Sports
–

Australia’s Chris
Rogers confirms Test retirement after Ashes

Australian opening batsman Chris Rogers confirmed on Tuesday
that he will retire from test cricket at the end of the current Ashes series in
England.

Rogers had already indicated that the series would be his
last and the 37-year-old told reporters in London he had no reason to change
his mind.

Rogers is the oldest member of the current Australian team
but has been one of the few to shine in the Ashes, scoring 437 runs at an
average of 62.42.

He made 173 in the first innings of the second test at
Lord’s, but retired hurt in the second innings, complaining of dizziness after
being hit in the head earlier in the match.

After struggling for years to cement a place in the team,
the left-hander has been in the best form of his career, in which he has
excelled at first-class cricket but managed only 24 test appearances since his
debut in 2008.

Obituaries
–

First Lady Suvra
Mukherjee passes away

President Pranab Mukherjee’s wife Suvra Mukherjee, who has
been ailing for some time, passed away today.

Suvra Mukherjee, an accomplished Rabindra Sangeet singer,
was 74.

The First Lady, who remained hospitalised for 11 days,
breathed her last at 10.51 am at the Army Research and Referral Hospital.

Born in Jessore (now in Bangladesh) on September 17, 1940,
Surva, a graduate, was an ardent fan of India’s national poet Gurudev
Rabindranath Tagore.

She was a vocalist of Rabindra Sangeet and performed in the
poet’s dance-dramas for long years not only in different parts of India, but also
in Europe, Asia and Africa.

Suvra founded the ‘Geetanjali Troupe’, whose mission is to
propagate Rabindranath Tagore’s philosophy as expressed through his songs and
dance-dramas. She was the guiding force behind all productions of the Troupe.